Machine for drafting fibrous materials



Oct. 11, 1927.

M. A. ROTH MACHINE FOR DRAFTING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed Jan. 23, 1925 5 Sheets-Sheet l 1,644,747 Oct. 11, 1927. ROTH MACHINE FOR DRAFTING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed Jan. 23, 1925 3 Sheets-Sheet Oct. 11, 1927. 1,644,747

M. A. ROTH MACHINE FOR DRAFTING FIBROUS MATERIALS Filed Jan. 25, 1925 3 Sheets-SheetS Patented Oct. 11, 1927.

FIE.

mm'rm AUGUSTE ROTH, or LrLLE, Eamon.

MACHINE FOR DRAFTING FIBROUS MATERIALS.

Application filed January 23, 1925, Serial No. 4,355, and in France.- February 4, 1924.

This invention is for improvements in orrelating to machines for drawlng or drafting applying tension to the conveyor band. A

long conveyor band is employed and a jockey-pulley relied upon to keep the operative part of the band at the requisite tension, the employment of a long conveyor band being advantageous from many points of view.

According to another feature of the invention there is provided a cleaner for keeping.

- the operative surface of the band free from accumulations of fluff whereby its manipulation of the sliver will be considerably improved more particularly from the point of View of regularity and uniformity. The

employment of the cleaner furthermore promotes the satisfactory operation of the remainder of the mechanism since it operates to tend to prevent bearings and other parts from becoming clogged.

The invention alsocompris'es certain features in regard to the guiding and controlling of the j ockey-pulley and the cleaner, the protection'of the conveyor bands, and the supporting of the various rollers in the feed ing and drafting mechanism.

For a more complete understanding of the 'invention .there will now be described, by

way of example only and with reference to the 'z'lccomp'anying ,drawings, certain con-v structional forms of drafting mechanism ac cording to the invention. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not restricted' to the precise constructional details set forth.

In these drawings Figure 1 is an end elevation of a portion of one constructional form of drafting mechanism according to the invention.

Figure 2 is a partial plan vieW, of the mechanism illustrated in Figure 1. i

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a detail of the mechanism shown in Figures 1 and 2.

Figura is a more or less diagrannnatie.

support one end of each of the upper main view of a mechanism somewhat similar to that illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

- Figure 5 is a view on the same lines as Figure 4 but showing a modified construction.

Figure 6 is a somewhat similar view of still another construction, and

Figure 7 is a diagrammatic view of another arrangement" of the drafting rollers.

Figures 8, 9 show a leather covered and milled rollerand Figures 10, 11 show a fluted roller for use in the device as described later.

.Like reference numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

1 Referring firstly to Figures 1, 2 and 3. a portion of the main supporting framework of the machine is shown-at 10. In thi are supported a lower main sliver feeding roller 11, a lower drafting roller 12, a conveyor band guiding roller 13 and a conveyor band guiding and supporting plate 14. The

conveyor band is shown at 1 5 and it will be seen that it is guided by the 'rollers 11 and 13. The band" 15 may be made of paper,

material. The entering sliver is illustrated leather, rubber, metal or other convenient" at 16 and the drafted material being delivered is illustrated at'17. Also supported by is mounted a bar 19.- This bar 19 serves to sliver feeding rollers 20, the intermediate feeding and pressure rollers 21, 22 and 23, and the upper drafting roller 24. The ends the frame 10 is a pivoted block 18 in which of the rollers just mentioned are received in t blocks such as 25, Figure 3, which are ad- I justable along the bar 19 and can be secured 1n position by tightening screws 26. Naturally the dimensions of the blocks 25 /will vary according to the dimensions off the rollers they have to support but theyi are preferably all constructed on substantially the same lines and'by virtueof the arrangement just described it will be seen that any desired adjustment of the rollers can readily be obtained. It will usually be necessary to vary the setting of the rollers according to the nature of the material under treatment, or according to the nature ofthe results desired to be obtained. The other ends of the rollers will be supported by similar blocks on abar similar to the bar 19 but-it has not i been thought necessary to illustrate the com-' plete arrangement since it merely amounts to a duplication of the parts. I t will be apand the roller 24 covered with leather or similar facing material as shown in Figure 8. The angular setting of the portion of the conveyor band between the rollers 11 and and the rollers 12 and 24 should preferably be in the neighbourhood of 15 to 20 to the horizontal.

Referring now to Figure 4, it will be seen that the conveyor band 15 forms a loop in which is suspended a jockey-pulley 27. This pulley has a spindle 28 which is guided in a fork 29 at the upper end of a portion 30 on the framework of the machine and it will be seen that the jockey-pulley 27 operates solely bv reason of its own weight to apply tension to the band 15' As necessary the pulley can rise and fall in the fork 29 in automatically adjusting the tension. The fork 29. in the construction illustrated, also oper' ates to receive the spindle 31 of a cleaning roller 32 which rests against the operative surface of the band 15 and removes therefrom any adhering material such as cotton flufl. The pressure of the roller 32 against supporting plate 14 underneath the upper ortion of the band 15 is not employed. If desired the space between the rollers 11 and 13. may be left entirely free, or alternatively a supplementary supporting roller as indicated in chain lines at 33 may be employed. In this figure, moreover, a modified form of support for the jockey-pulley 27 and cleaning roller 32 is illustrated. The part 30 of the machine frame has at its upper end two fingers 34 and 35 whereof the adjacent faces 36 and 37 respectively converge downwardly. The finger 34 constitutes a guiding abutment against the upwardly extending face 36 of which the jockey-pulley spindle 28 bears, and up and down. which face the jockey-pulley is free to move in applying tension to the band: This finger 34 is so situated that its face 36 holds the jockeypulley, and the loop of the conveyor band in which it is situated, out of the-position perpendicularly,'though in the same plane, as they would otherwise take up due to gravity. In this respect, of course, the con- 'struction shown in Figure 5 operates similarly to that shown in Figure 4, and the result is that the conveyor band and the jockey-pulley are retained under adequate control and prevented from movinginto undesired or dangerous positions such as might result if they were free toswing about.

Similarly, the finger 35 constitutes a guiding abutment against the upwardly extending face 37 on which the spindle 31 of the cleaner 32 bears and up and down which it is free tomove to adjust itself in rubbing contact with the surface ofthe band 15. This band, and the face .37, constitute the sole support for the cleaner 32.

In the construction shown in Figure 6, the roller 13 and the plate 14 are substituted by a plate-38 whereof the rounded end 39 serves to guide the band 15 at the point where it is most nearly adjacent to the drafting rollers 12 and 24. In this figure a portion of the frame of the machine is shown at 40 and in addition to supplying the guiding faces 41 and 42 for the jockey-pulley and cleaning roller, this portion 40 is also extend ed upwardly at 43 to surround and protect the conveyor band .15. Preferably another protecting plate 44 is also provided in the machine frame so that the conveyor bands may be adequatelyfenclosed.

In the arrangement of the rollers shown in Figure 7, a single roller 45 replaces the rollers 21 and 22. It is preferred to have the rollers 11, 12, 23 and 45 fluted in this construction as shown in Figures 10, 11.

The mechanism according to the present. invention may be applied to treatment of any fibrous materials and may be adjusted to give any desired degree of draft. It .may be applied to machines for imparting a preparatory draft to a sliver or to machines which impart the final draft prior to spinning. Although a high degree of draft may be secured withthe mechanism according to the present invention if desired, yet in some circumstances it will be found more satisfactory to secure a lower draft and to rely upon the mechanism to equalize'the strength and character of the output with the object of reducing the subsequent number of doublings required. Any lengths of fibers may be dealt with and in this respect the invention will be found to be particularly applicable for dealing with material having mixed long and short fibers since, owing to the high degree of efficiency with which the conveyor ban-d operates, the long, and short fibers will be adequately distributed and the resulting drafted yarn be found to be regument may be varied and adjusted as desired and if thought necessary spring tension means may be applied to' the bars 19. The conveyor band can be arranged to support the material during, practically the whole of its'travel from the intake of the main feeding rollers to the intake of the drafting rollers and in this way adequate control may be secured over the material. This control may be further adjusted by choosing a suitable spacing for the various rollers along the bars 19.

Friction may be relied upon solely for driving the band 15 or alternatively the roller 11 could be fitted with a toothed wheel to engage in perforations in an edge of the band. The cleaning roller 32 may be pro vided with a suitable operative face of c 0th or other convenient material.

It is to be understood that the invention is not restricted to the precise constructional details hereinbefore set forth.

I claim 1. A machine for drawing or drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a drafting device, a feeding and restraining device co-operating therewith, an' endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding sad band in such a path that a portion of its periphery affords a guiding and conveying surface for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding and restraining device and the drafting device, the length of which band is such that the portion of its periphery 0 which forms the conveying surface is considerably less than one-third of the length of-the entire band and that the remainder of the band depends in the form of a straightsided loop the bight of which occurs at a situation considerably remote from the drafting locality, a jockey pulley,freely suspended in said loop and a stationary abutment by which the jockey pulley is guided for rising and falling movement.

2. A machine for drawing or drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a draftmg devlce, a feedlng and re-- straining device co-operating therewith, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guidingsaid band in such a path that a portion of its periphery affords a guiding and conveying surface for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding and restrain ing device and the drafting device, the length of which band is such that the portion of its periphery which forms the conveying surface is considerably less than onethird of the length of the entire band and that the remainder of the band depends in the form of a straight-sided loop the bight of which occurs at a situation considerably remote from the drafting locality, a jockey pulley freely suspended in said loop, a r0- tary cleaner bearing against and driven by that surface of the band which engages the and the rotary cleaner in operative position against the band. v

3. A machine for drawing .or drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a drafting device, a feeding and restraining device co-operating therewith, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding said band in such a path that a portion ofits periphery affords av guiding and conveying surface for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding and restraining device and the drafting device, said band being long enough to form a depending loop which hangs below the aforesaid portion of its periphery, a jockey pulley suspended in said depending loop and operating by reason solely of 1ts own weight to apply tension to the; band, and a guiding abutment having an upwardly extending face against which the jockey pulley bears, and up and down which the jockey pulley is free to move in applying tension to the band, said abutment being so situated as to hold'the jockey pulley, and the loop of the band in which it is situated, out of the position perpendicularly though in the same plane as they would otherwise take up due to gravity.

'4. machine for drawing or drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a drafting device. a feeding and restraining device co-operating therewith, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding saidband in such a path that a portion ofits periphery affords a guiding and conveying surface for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding and restraining device and the drafting device said band being long enough to form a depending loop which hangs below the afore' aid portion of its periphery, a jockey pulley suspended in said depending loop and operating by reason solely of its own weight to apply tension to the band, a cleaner bearing upon that surface of the band which engages'the fibrous materialbeing treated, and a guiding abutment having an upwardly extending face against which the cleaner bears and up and down which it is free to move to adjust itself in rubbing contact with the surfac; of the band, the latter and the face of the abutment consti tuting the sole support for'the cleaner.

5. A machine for drawing or drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a drafting device, a feeding andrestraining device co-operating therewith, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding raid band in such a path that a imam of ing surface for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its which hangs below the aforesaid pprtion of its periphery, a jockey pulley suspended in said depending loop and operating by reason solely of its own weight to apply tension to the band, a cleaner bearing upon that surface of the band which engages the fibrous material being treated, and two guiding abutments, one having an upwardly extending face against which the. jockey pulley bears, and up and down which the jockey pulley is free to move in. applying tension to the band, said abutment being so situated as to hold the jockey pulley, and the loop of the band in which it is situated, out of the position perpendicularly though in the same plane as they would otherwise take up due to gravity, and the other guiding abutment having an upwardly extending face against which the cleaner bears and up and down which it is free to move to adjust itself in rubbing contact with the surface of the band, the latter and the face of the said second abutment constituting the sole sup port for the cleaner.

6. A machine for drawing and drafting fibrous materials comprising in combination a drafting device, a feeding and restraining device co-operating therewith, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding said band in such a path that a portion of its periphery affords a guiding and conveying surface for-substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding and restraining device and the drafting device, said band being long enough to form a depending loop which hangs below the aforesaid portion of its periphery, a

jockey pulley free to move in applying tension to the band, such face being so situated as to hold the jockey pulley, and the loop of the band in which it is situated, out of the position perpendicularly though in the same plane as they would otherwise take up due to gravity, and the other of said faces having the cleaner bearing against it and being free to move up and down it to adjust itself in rubbing contact with the surface of the band,

rollers associated with said drafting rollers,

a plurality of intermediate rollers carried each by one of said pairs of blocks between saidvfeeding and drafting rollers, which blocks are adjustable along said bars each independently of the others, the foremost one of the said intermediate rollers being adjustable into close proirimity with the drafting rollers to reduce to a minimumthe distance between the foremost intermediate roller andthe nip of the drafting rollers, an endless conveyor band for the fibrous material being treated, means for driving and guiding said band in such a path that a portion of its periphery affords a guiding and conveying surface at said intermediate rollers for substantially the whole length of the fibrous material between its intake at the feeding rollers and the drafting rollers, the

length of which band is such that the portion of its periphery which forms the conveying surface is considerably less than onethird of the length of the entire band and that the remainder of the band depends in the form of a straight-sided loop the bight of which occurs at a situation considerably remote from the drafting loca1i ty, a jockey pulley freely suspended in said loop and a stationary abutment by which the jockey pulley is guided for rising and falling movement.

-In testimony whereof I afiixmy signature.

MARTIN AUGUSTE ROTH. 

